Undergraduate Module Descriptor

PHL3024A: Philosophical Readings 3

Overview

NQF Level

6

Credits

15

ECTS Value

7.5

Term(s) and duration

This module ran during term 2 (11 weeks)

Academic staff

Dr Adam Toon (Lecturer)

Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Available via distance learning

No

In this course we will read Gilbert Ryle’s book “The Concept of Mind”. First published in 1949, “The Concept of Mind” is famous for its attack on Cartesian dualism, which Ryle calls “the dogma of the Ghost in the Machine”. It is often said to epitomise two highly influential, but now discredited, movements in 20th century philosophy: behaviourism and ordinary language philosophy. And yet many of the book’s central themes are now re-emerging in cutting-edge debates in philosophy of mind and cognitive science. Indeed, Daniel Dennett has described “The Concept of Mind” as “one of the most original and influential – if still hugely underestimated – works of philosophy of the century”. In this module we will engage with the book in depth and discuss Ryle’s ideas on a range of central topics in philosophy of mind, including perception, reasoning, emotion and the imagination.